Chats on CostumeRhead, G. Woolliscroft (George Woolliscroft)
History
Chats on Costume
Rhead, G. Woolliscroft (George Woolliscroft)
Clothing and dress
halfe thereof to be to the Kyng, & the other halfe to hym that shall
leyse the same clothe, & duely prove the same to be made contrarie to
this ordinance, excepte that he shall chose to make of lambes wolle by
itselfe without mynglyng with any other wolle. Excepte also that corke
may be used in dyenge upon woded wolle, & also in dyenge of all suche
clothe, that is onely made of woded wolle, so that the same wolle &
clothe be perfytly boyled & madered, except also that corke may be put
upon clothe, whiche is perfectly boyled & madered"--but enough of this.
The sumptuary laws continued to be enacted against this, that, or the
other abuse, or fancied abuse. If a new fashion sprung up, a brand new
law would be immediately fashioned for the purpose of keeping it within
bounds. It was to no purpose, however; the sumptuary laws continued
to be disregarded as heretofore. "How often hath her majestie with
the grave advice of her honorable Councell, sette downe the limits of
apparell to every degree, & how soon again hath the pride of our harts
overflowen the chanell!"[4]
[Illustration: GUILJELMUS III.
D. G. ANGLIÆ, SCOTIÆ, FRANCIÆ et HIBERNIÆ REX.
WILLIAM III.]
It was the same with the satirists, whether of horned head-dresses
or other extravagances; Monk Lydgate might rave, might shout himself
hoarse, but the women would have their horns.
It was indeed inevitable that the vagaries of fashion and the love
of fine feathers should become the favourite butt of the satirists,
purists, and other persons who assumed the character of mentor. Among
the most insistent of these were the priesthood. St. Bernard thus
admonishes his sister, perhaps with greater candour than politeness, on
her visiting him, "well arraied with riche clothing, with perles and
precious stones":--
"Suster, yet ye love youre bodi, by reson ye shuld beter love youre
soule: wene ye not that ye displese God and his aungels to see in you
suche pompe and pride to adorn suche a carion as is youre body.... Whi
thenke ye not that the pore peple that deyen for hungir and colde, that
for the sixte part of youre gay arraye xl persones might be clothed,
refresshed, and kepte from the colde?... And thanne the ladi wepte,
and solde awey her clothes, and levid after an holy lyff, and had love
of God, aungeles, and holy seintes, the whiche is beter thanne of the
worldely pepille" ("Knight of La Tour Landry," 1371).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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